


lives by the sea

by bisousniall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 05:45:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisousniall/pseuds/bisousniall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall knows Harry Styles is real.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lives by the sea

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a prompt of a "puff the magic dragon" AU, which this isn't really. It is sort of a fairytale feel to it, or if you'd ask some people (not naming names), they'd say it's a bit depressing and creepy, but I swear it wasn't intended to be that way.

At the time it had seemed like Harry was born out of the fog. For all Niall knew, he had been. One second he wasn’t there, the next he was walking up the beach towards Niall, his curly hair flipping wildly in the wind. Niall thought he was imagining things at first, but the hand the boy outstretched to him was warm and he smelled salty, like the sea. He introduced himself as Harry Styles. He looked older, maybe sixteen with seaweed green eyes, and a smile that seemed endless. Niall was only ten and yet Harry still wanted to play with him. They chased each other up and down the beach, Niall never catching on to the fact that Harry was letting him win. When they got tired they sat and drew pictures in the sand with sticks they found. They were both pretty rubbish at it and Niall couldn’t stop laughing. When it started getting dark and Niall heard his mum calling his name, he said goodbye to Harry, reluctantly. Harry just smiled, pulled Niall into a hug and promised him they’d see each other again.

That night Niall spoke non-stop about his new friend. His curly hair, his green eyes, his bright laugh that scrunched up his face, and his poor drawing skills. After dinner Niall sat in front of the television, oblivious to the fact that his aunt was telling his mum that she didn’t know of any local boy named Harry Styles.

The next day was sunny and warm, a rarity to be sure. Niall barely finished eating breakfast before he was running full speed out the door towards the beach just over the hill from his aunt’s house.  Harry was already sitting on the beach, much to Niall’s surprise. “Harry!” He shouted. Harry turned to face him, grin already in place, and waved. Niall thought, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, that Harry was beautiful. It wasn’t in a way that Niall’s ten year old mind could really process yet. All he knew was that Harry was visually pleasing, kind, and didn’t mind it when Niall hung off of him. Never got angry like Niall’s older brother did sometimes. Harry was perfect.

It was warm enough to actually go into the water, so they spent the day having swimming races, splashing each other, and Harry even let Niall get up onto his shoulders and jump into the water from there.

The rest of Niall’s vacation to his aunt’s house passed much the same way. He’d meet Harry at the beach and they’d spend the whole day together. Sometimes they’d just sit in the sand and Harry would tell Niall stories he’d made up, they were almost always silly but Niall would laugh anyways because it was hard not to laugh at Harry. The last day of his trip came too soon, and Harry knew there was something wrong when they went to say bye at the end of the day and Niall could barely meet his eyes.

“I’m going home tomorrow. My aunt lives in Ballyconneely, but I’m from Mullingar. We just visit once every summer.”

“So you’ll be back next year?”

Niall nodded, and Harry smiled as he slipped a silver chain from around his neck that Niall had never noticed before. It was a silver dragon pendant. Harry slipped it over Niall’s head. 

“Keep it. We’ll see each other next summer.”

-

The year passed slowly. Sometimes Niall thought he made Harry up because no one else, his aunt or uncle or his mother, ever actually saw Harry. But the dragon pendant was real, and Niall had taken to rubbing his fingers over the sharp edges every time he thought of Harry, which was quite frequently. Eventually it was summer again, and Niall and his mother returned to Ballyconneely. Niall could hardly wait, felt like he could vibrate out of his skin. He said a quick hello to his aunt and uncle before he was running off to the beach again, like a whole year hadn’t passed. He reached the top of the hill and let out a whoop of delight when he saw Harry sitting on the same rock he always sat on. He looked the same as he had the year before and it made something warm and comfortable settle in Niall’s stomach. It almost felt like coming home after a long trip.

They met with a hug, Niall jumping on Harry and almost knocking him backwards.

“You’ve dyed your hair blond.” Harry ran his hands through Niall’s shaggy, messy hair. “Like sunshine,” Harry mused. Niall just smiled and ran for the water, Harry close behind him.

-

It happened every year. Niall having to leave, promising he’d be back next summer and Harry promising he’d be there, and he always was. He was a constant. Never changing, and beautifully ageless. Like the ocean, Niall figured. Always moving and always the same. Niall kept his promise too, came back to Ballyconneely looking and sounding a little bit different each year. He came at twelve, with bright white braces. At thirteen, with a Gameboy that they played with on the beach the whole trip. At fourteen, with a guitar he had received for his birthday. At fifteen, with terribly bad acne that Harry didn’t even mention, much to Niall’s delight. 

But then at sixteen, with a girlfriend named Holly.

Niall had invited Holly to his aunt’s house so she could meet Harry. He had talked about him frequently, showed off the dragon pendant he wore around his neck that Harry had given him so many years earlier. He was excited to finally have someone else meet Harry because as far as he knew, no one else even knew Harry existed. 

It was a beautiful day when they arrived in Ballyconneely and Niall wasted no time in grabbing Holly’s hand and dragging her over to the beach. They climbed up the hill and Niall’s heart sank at the top. Harry wasn’t there.

“Where is your friend?” Holly asked.

“I...he’s not here.”

“Should you call him? Do you wanna go to his house or something?”

“I don’t know anything about him. I mean I know his name, what he looks like and he’s British, but that’s it.”

All at once it was dawning on Niall how strange their situation was, and if Holly agreed, she was doing a good job of hiding it. When they got back to his aunt’s house, Niall looked up Harry Styles in the phonebook. There wasn’t a single one in all of Connemara, not even anyone with the surname Styles. Niall didn’t bring Holly to the beach again. They spent their time walking around town, visiting the tea shop and the pub and running errands for his aunt. Niall didn’t bring up Harry again, but he secretly hoped to see him around every corner he turned.

 On the last night of their trip, Niall couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t settle the absolute wrongness of being in Ballyconneely and not seeing Harry. He decided to check the beach, just once more. It was about one in the morning when Niall slipped out the front door with a flashlight. He got to the top of the hill and shone his flashlight down at the beach towards the rock where Harry always sat. He saw a darkened figure. “Harry?” he called out.

“Niall,” Harry answered. Niall’s stomach flipped. He ran down the hill so fast he thought for sure he was going to lose his balance, but he couldn’t stop himself. He threw himself into Harry’s open arms and they went tumbling into the sand.

“God, Harry. I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Niall.”

“Where have you been? I’m going home tomorrow, you haven’t been here.”

“You brought a girl with you.”

“Holly?”

“I’m only here for you. This just needs to be between the two of us, Niall.”

Niall just nodded. The night was cool so they sat close to each other in the sand and talked. Well, Niall talked and Harry mostly listened. Niall lost track of time and soon the sun was starting to rise, and they had to say goodbye. They hugged for a long time, and Niall let his hands roam Harry’s back, squeezing gently. He _was_ real. Niall could feel his warm skin under his hands, his breath on his neck, and his curly hair tickling his face. Harry was real. 

Niall came at seventeen. 

“No Holly?” Harry asked, after they had greeted each other. Niall shrugged.

“We broke up.”

That year they mostly sat in the sand and held hands. On one particularly cold day, Niall brought a blanket and they huddled underneath it. Niall talked a lot, about how he wanted to be famous, like Justin Bieber. Harry laughed and said he didn’t know who that was, so the next day Niall brought his iPod and some speakers to the beach. He watched Harry trying to dance to Baby and laughed so hard he felt close to tears. When it was Niall’s last day they hugged, long and tight.

“I think you’re almost there.” Harry whispered into Niall’s neck, and Niall wanted to ask what he meant but then Harry was pulling away. 

- 

Niall came at eighteen. His baby face was almost completely thinned out, his body was lean and he was at least two inches taller than the previous year. Harry greeted him the same as ever, still looking the exact same as he had that first foggy day when Niall was ten years old. They spent their time much like the year before. Talking, holding hands, swimming in the water. It was all a bit bittersweet for Niall because he knew this was his last year coming to Ballyconneely.

“Harry, I’m turning nineteen in three weeks.” Niall said on their last day together. Harry nodded.

“You’ve grown up into a beautiful young man.”

“You’ve always been beautiful,” Niall said automatically. Harry ducked his head. “I’m moving to London after I turn nineteen. Gonna try to become a musician. 

“You’re gonna be famous, Niall.” Harry said, with unwavering certainty. Almost like he knew it to be a fact. ” _I think you’re almost there_.” The words Harry spoke a year earlier came back to Niall. Maybe Harry did know. 

“So this is a goodbye, then. Like a forever goodbye.”

“You still have this.” Harry placed a hand over the dragon pendant Niall had been wearing for eight years. “So it’s not really a forever goodbye.”

Niall didn’t know how to respond so he pulled Harry in for a chaste kiss. Their lips brushed against each other’s softly. Harry was the first to pull back.

“Goodbye for now, Niall Horan.” 

He turned around and walked up the beach. Niall turned around and began to walk away as well. When he reached the top of the hill, he turned around to take one last look at Harry, but he was already gone. Vanished as if he had never been there to begin with.

Niall rubbed his thumb over the sharp edges of his dragon pendant, and he knew deep in his bones. Harry Styles was real.


End file.
